In-floor pool cleaning systems have been developed that clean the inner surfaces of a pool by using pressurized bursts of water from cleaning heads mounted in the floor, sides and/or steps of the pool to move debris (which includes dirt, leaves and other material in the pool) into one or more drains where vacuum pulls the debris into a filtering system. A pump, a distribution valve connected to the pump, and one or more cleaning heads connected to the distribution valve are used in a typical in-floor cleaning system. The pump delivers pressurized water into the distribution valve, which directs the pressurized water to successively control the operation of one or more cleaning heads at a time.
In a conventional distribution valve, fluid, such as water, enter a cavity of the distribution valve (or “valve”) through an inlet port and exit through outlet ports. In one such known design, each of the outlet ports is covered by a corresponding outlet valve that is opened or closed in response to the operation of an impeller positioned inside the cavity and connected to a gear reduction mechanism. As the impeller rotates, the gear reduction mechanism rotates to drive a cam system that sequentially opens and closes each individual outlet valve to open and close the corresponding outlet port.
A problem with this design is that a relatively large force must be applied by the gear reduction mechanism to turn the cam that opens and closes each individual outlet valve. Moreover, over time, as mineral deposits build up on the outlet valves and/or the cam surface, the valves become increasingly more difficult to open and close, thus requiring even more force to turn the cam. Further, the torque required from the gear reduction mechanism creates stress in each of the distribution valve components, and specifically in the gears themselves. This stress results in increased wear and tear, which shortens the life span of the components. Increased wear and tear also adds to the operational costs due to more frequent maintenance, repair, and replacement of parts, and leads to down time required to perform such tasks.
Other disadvantages of such conventional distribution valves are their size and the number of moving parts. First, the relatively large size of conventional valves requires more material to manufacture the valve, which leads to an increase in the overall cost. Second, for the known distribution valve previously described, it includes not only the moving parts of the gear reduction mechanism, but a separate outlet valve for each of the outlet ports, and these respective valves that must repeatedly open and close in order for water to move through the corresponding outlet port. The relatively large number of moving parts increases manufacturing costs, leads to more malfunctions, downtime and makes it more difficult to replace damaged components.
Another drawback of the conventional distribution valve described herein is restricted fluid flow and fluid blow-by. When in the open position, the outlet valve still restricts the amount of fluid that flows through the associated outlet port. In addition, when closed, the outlet valve does not sufficiently seal the outlet ports that are not in use. Thus, the closed valves still permit some fluid to pass into the corresponding outlet ports, thus reducing the pressure of fluid exiting the open outlet port and decreasing the efficiency of the pool cleaning system. An increase in pump horsepower, and the power consumption of the pump, is required to maintain operational requirements. Conventional distribution valves thus often require larger pumps that demand more power than might otherwise be necessary if they operated more efficiently. Consequently, there is a need for an improved distribution valve.
Cleaning heads are known and they typically consist of an outer sleeve and an insert that fits within the sleeve. Cleaning heads are mounted in the floor, side or steps of a pool and are preferably flush with the pool surface. When pressurized water is diverted by the valve to a particular cleaning head (or group of cleaning heads), the pressurized water enters the insert and pushes the insert partially out of the sleeve so that the opening in the insert extends beyond the sleeve. The insert has an aperture through which pressurized water flows in order to push debris towards a drain. Sometimes the inserts remain stuck in the out position, where people can step on them and hurt themselves and/or break the insert.